But the reality of living in a world trying to combat COVID-19 is that we have all become amateur statisticians.

Everyone I know is checking for the latest figures on how many new cases there have been, how many people are now considered to have recovered and, sadly, what the death toll has reached.

We also all understand the need to flatten the curve so that our hospital system is able to cope with the number of people who might need a bed in intensive care.

But these are not the only figures that have held our attention. We're also watching as thousands of people are forced to join the unemployment queue and the cost of the coronavirus in terms of lost productivity continues to climb.

Somewhere in the middle of those two sets of numbers is the conundrum facing our politicians.

No one wants to see a single addition to the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, let alone watch the Australian death toll pass the 100-mark.

The goal now is to start allowing the economy to pick up speed, without giving the coronavirus the chance to strengthen its foothold.

At her daily press conference on Wednesday, NSW Premier Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the "next 10 days are quite critical" in determining how much the state can try to resume previous activities.

Across the country, state leaders face a similar game of wait-and-see as social restrictions begin to ease.

"Obviously schools will be back this week and next week and that'll be inputted into the data into the modelling," Ms Berejiklian said.

"We also know that from Friday there'll be an impact. So, the next 10 days for us are quite critical and we will be looking at what the data is telling us about activity."

From Friday in NSW, five people will be allowed to visit a household and outdoor gatherings of 10 are permitted. Cafes and restaurants will also be allowed reopen for service, although also subject to a limit of 10 customers.

The Premier said she had already started discussions with the pubs and clubs industry, after other states included pubs with cafes and restaurants in their first stage of reopening, but she was hesitant to make any announcements.

"As Dr McAnulty explained yesterday ... the current view is sitting down for a meal is different to having a drink [at a pub]," she said.

NSW had its first day with no new coronavirus cases on Monday, but on Tuesday six people recorded a positive result, while an 81-year-old woman who had been a passenger on board the Ruby Princess died.

Ms Berejiklian has acknowledged that the reduction in social isolation rules will give people more freedom, but said "it also brings more risk in terms of the number of cases, but we have to keep moving forward".

"We have to accept that a manageable number of cases will allow us to have people keep their jobs, we don't want to see more people go into distress because they can't keep their job," she said.

There is no rule book when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. There is no handy how-do guide on how to balance the need to protect the health of the community from a new, and unknown, virus and, at the same time, ensure that the economy is protected as well.

As our state and federal leaders continue to struggle to balance the health and emotional needs of Australians with a bid to keep our economy ticking along - however slowly - many people will be understandably keen to see a return to "normal".

Sadly, though, a complete return to what we used to consider normal is probably a long way off, if it is ever going to be an option at all.

While we're all probably feeling varying degrees of helplessness and frustration at the loss of so many previous freedoms, there is still something we can do.

We have to listen to the health professionals, particularly as the social isolation rules are relaxed. If we want those former freedoms and lifestyle back, then we have to fight for them; and the best way to fight for them is to keep doing as we are asked.